People would tell us when we were "preparing" for bison that we were rare. Most folks don't build the facility and spend the money on equipment and soil improvements and blah blah blah until the animals are on the land and the need(s) arise.
Well, one of the newest cows had been on the farm less than two weeks when we noticed an injury on her left hip. At first we thought she was possibly having her 2022 calf. We located her laying down in the woods of the back field and watched from a short distance. Not seeing any signs of active labor, we left her alone for a few hours. But by the next morning she had rejoined the herd in the lower field, that's when Dave noticed her limping and saw the injury.
It was April 3rd.
We monitored and communicated the issues we were seeing with our vet and with the owner of Blackfish Bison Ranch, one of the most experienced bison ranchers on the East Coast, hoping that she'd show signs of improvement pretty fast.
(Pictured: April 10th a week after seeing the injury)
She didn't.
Being almost full-term and not grazing full-time with the herd caused rapid weight loss...and critical conditions. It was time to get her seperated from the herd and take aggressive action in order to save her and her unborn calf.
Below: April 15th with significant weight loss and increased drainage.
In order to quarantine her and her 2021 bull calf, we had to cut her out of the herd. A task only possible by using our sorting pens and multiple gate system we built long before the animals were on site. Every rancher we had spoken with in the previous two years told us we'd end up tearing it down and rebuilding it a hundred times before getting it "right." But we took meticulous note of what each of them stated worked for them, what hadn't worked, and applied it to our set-up from the start.
I admit, I had my doubt that our untested set-up would work efficiently and achieve our goal of "stressless" on the animals (and safe for me and Dave). But, sorting her and her huge 2021 bull calf out from the herd went smooth as butter! And with very little stress on any of the herd! We were feeling pretty confident by the end of Friday evening!
On Saturday morning I headed to Kentucky's horse country to pick up a load of the best alfalfa hay I could find. Nutrient tested, it is a high protein, clean, dust-free, and nothing but sweet goodness hay that a pregnant cow not grazing enough to maintain a healthy weight needs. Twelve-hours later, including an hour or so on the side of the road with a blown-out tire that my sweet husband came to fix for me, she was darted with 10cc of Draxxin to fight off what was an obvious infection at the wound site.
Sunday she started on B12 boosters with rolled oats and molasses sweet feed, 2 pounds each, twice a day, and given about a 1/4 of a roll of pasture mix rolled hay for bedding while we kept her and her bull calf quarantined plus 45 pounds of alfalfa hay for protein supplement.
By Sunday morning, the ooze from her side was thick and pasty, a good sign that the Draxxin was already working and the infection was draining.
Monday the wound was looking pinker, an indication blood flow was reaching beyond areas that had appeared infected just 48 hours earlier and the limp was hardly noticeable. The high protein and hi-caloric diet continued.
On Tuesday our vet came out and, again, thanks to having our handling system and working pens, she was examined up close and thorough.
The prognosis isn't terrible, but wasn't the best either. Turns out this little lady is healing a broken pelvis and requires extended isolation from the rest of the herd, limited movement, and continuous antibiotics to help warding off infection. *Yes, we are an antibiotic-free farm. However, we would never not treat an animal in need of medical aid. And our breed cows are not intended for meat consumption.
We have a long road ahead of us to get this girl healed up and back into the herd. But, the lesson?
This is why we worked so hard to be ready for the animals when we brought them "home" on the range!
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